Lesson 8.2 · Conditionals
Imagining best and worst case scenarios: ‘If we lost…, we would…’
When we talk about situations which are hypothetical – imaginary, extreme or very unlikely – we use if + past simple and would. (In grammar books, this is called the second conditional.)
From How to Use English Verb Tenses in Business by David Cox · 200+ diagrams for professional English
The forms: no ‘would’ after ‘if’
We don’t use ‘would’ with ‘if’. We use the past simple instead, and we don’t use ‘would’ until the other part of the sentence. This is one of the most common mistakes to avoid:
| If I | failed | the test, I | would be | very angry. |
| If it | rained | everyone | would go | inside. |
| If we | had | time, we | would go | on holiday. |
| If I | was | super rich, I | would buy | a sports car. |
| If I | bought | a big house, I | would need | a big garden. |
past simple after ‘if’‘would’ in the other part
Negative sentences
Be careful with negative sentences. Because we need the past simple in the ‘if’ part of the sentence, ‘If I wouldn’t…’ is always incorrect:
| If he | work, he would have no money. ✗ | |
| If he | didn’t | work, he would have no money. |
| If he | wasn’t | so skilled, we would struggle. |
| If we | weren’t | so skilled, we would struggle. |
Past tense – but still about the future
We use the past tense in these sentences, but they are still talking about the future. The past tense shows that we have stepped into an imaginary situation:
If we lost our main client,
‘If’ + past simple to talk about a hypothetical future situation
we would have to cut around 30% of our costs.
‘Would’ + infinitive to talk about what would happen in that situation
Two important business uses
1 · Describing worst case scenarios
Some scenarios should never happen – but we still have to prepare for them:
If our main supplier went out of business,
‘If’ + past simple to talk about a hypothetical future situation
we wouldn’t be able to deliver for at least three months.
‘Would’ + infinitive to talk about what would happen in that situation
Other examples: If our CTO left the company, the whole product roadmap would be at risk. If the investors pulled out, we would need to find €5 million in a matter of weeks.
Mixing tenses: the worst case – and how we will prepare for it
After imagining the worst case, we step back into the real world to say what we are going to do about it:
If our customer data was leaked,
‘If’ + past simple to talk about a hypothetical future situation
the damage to our reputation would be enormous,
‘Would’ + infinitive to talk about what would happen in that situation
so we need to invest heavily in cyber security.
Present simple (‘need to’) – back in the real world: what we need to do now
Other examples: If our two biggest customers moved to a competitor, we wouldn’t survive the year, so we’re working hard to win new clients in Asia. If the new system failed on launch day, our customers couldn’t place any orders, so we’re going to run a full test the week before.
More normal scenarios: ‘if’ + present, ‘will’
For more normal scenarios – good or bad – which could really happen, we go back to if + present simple and will (Lesson 8.1). Only the extreme scenarios at either end move into the imaginary world. It isn’t about good or bad news – it’s about how likely or extreme the situation is:
If we got 10,000 orders in the first week, we wouldn’t be able to deliver them all on time.
Extreme best case
Imaginary – if + past simple, would
If the launch gets off to a good start, we’ll increase the marketing budget.
Realistic – good
Could really happen – if + present simple, will
If the system is slow on launch day, we’ll extend the introductory discount.
Realistic – bad
Could really happen – if + present simple, will
If the new system failed on launch day, our customers wouldn’t be able to place any orders.
Extreme worst case
Imaginary – if + past simple, would
2 · Ruling out a bad option
We also use these sentences to confirm why we should rule out a bad option. First we state the real decision – then we imagine the option we have rejected:
We’re keeping the price at €49.
Present continuous – the real decision: what we are doing now and from now on
If we charged more,
‘If’ + past simple – imagining the option we have rejected
we’d lose the smaller clients.
‘Would’ + infinitive to talk about what would happen in that situation
Other examples: We’ve decided to launch on 1st March. If we left it any later, we would miss the spring buying season. We’re sticking with our current supplier. If we switched now, it would delay production by at least two months.
Still undecided? Give a realistic warning
If people are seriously considering a bad option, the decision hasn’t been made yet – so we use if + present simple and will as a realistic warning:
Still undecidedA realistic warning
If we leave the launch any later, we’ll miss the spring season.
We might still delay.
Option rejectedAn imaginary situation
If we left the launch any later, we would miss the spring season.
We’ve already decided not to.
Practise this lesson
Realistic, extreme or already rejected? Practise with business scenarios.
Teachers: use these diagrams
You are welcome to use these diagrams in your lessons and materials. Please credit Fluency Space with a link to this page.
Diagram: Fluency Space – fluencyspace.com/grammar/verb-tenses/second-conditional-worst-case-scenarios/Correct on paper is not the same as natural in the boardroom
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